NFL Hot Takes: Week 5

Arizona Cardinals: The last time we saw the Cardinals “Bounce Back” it was against a horrible team. They then proceeded to lose two more in a row; so we are going to wait a little bit longer before declaring the Cardinals out of their funk.

Atlanta Falcons: We doubted the Falcons ability to move the ball against a top defense on the road. Well they proved us wrong. Atlanta is looking like one of the scarier teams in the NFL right now.

Baltimore Ravens: Taking a cue from the Bills, Baltimore fired their offensive coordinator after two straight losses. We all knew Mark Trestman sucked, but honestly, the Ravens have no wide receivers. Tough to throw the ball to nobody.

Buffalo Bills: We aren’t quite ready to say that the Bills have turned their season around after their 0-2 start, but three wins in a row is something Buffalo fans haven’t seen in a long time.

Carolina Panthers: MONDAY NIGHT GAME

Chicago Bears: This season is already lost for Chicago, but the fans are still hopeful… Hopeful that anyone but Jay Cutler will be their QB next year. And before you come to Jay’s defense, consider this stat: The only two quarterbacks to throw for 300+ yards in 3 consecutive games for Chicago are Brian Hoyer and Josh McCown. Two backups did what Cutler couldn’t.

Cincinnati Bengals: What’s going on in Cincinnati? At the rate they’re going, they won’t have to hear any more talk of Dalton’s inability to win playoff games… because they won’t be playing in one.

Cleveland Browns: It almost didn’t seem fair that the Browns would have to face Brady in his first game back from suspension. Cleveland didn’t even put up a fight but you can’t really blame them since they are now on their tenth quarterback of the season.

Dallas Cowboys: Last week we had our ticket, but we hadn’t taken our seat on the Cowboys hype train. This week we upgraded to first class. Dak and Zeke are the real deal and the NFC East has officially been put on notice.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos defense is still great – they just weren’t quite up to the task this week. It was going to take a near flawless performance against the league’s top offense and it didn’t happen. Not everyone has the versatile offensive players the Falcons do, so the Broncos will be just fine.

Detroit Lions: Of course the 1-3 Lions get a win over the 3-0 Eagles coming off bye. There’s no other way that was going to play out. Even though they pulled out the win – it was a pretty ugly offensive performance by a team that is supposed to be really good at offense.

Green Bay Packers: Even though they’ve won two in a row, Aaron Rodgers just doesn’t look comfortable. His offensive line is giving him all day to throw, but his accuracy just seems off. He needs to get back to the basics with his footwork.

Houston Texans: We said on our podcast that the Texans didn’t even need to win this game – just keep it close. Well they didn’t and are now in danger of relinquishing their hold on first place. I guess that’s why you don’t give $72M to an un-tested QB.

Indianapolis Colts: After just an awful performance in London, the Colts looked somewhat competent this week. Sure they gave up almost 400 yards to Brian Hoyer, but a win is all that matters.

Jacksonville Jaguars: BYE WEEK

Kansas City Chiefs: BYE WEEK

Los Angeles Rams: There was only so far that Case Keenum was going to take this team, but Jeff Fisher might have lost this game with his affinity for fakes on special teams. When the booth announcers know a fake is coming based on the angle of the long snapper, I’m pretty sure the defense does too.

Miami Dolphins: Pardon the pun, but the Dolphins are sinking fast and we aren’t quite sure where the bottom is. Losing a home game to a 1-3 team feels like rock bottom, but if we know anything about the Dolphins, it’s that this is just the beginning.

Minnesota Vikings: Raise your hand if you had the Vikings starting off 5-0 after losing their starting QB and future HOF running back.

New England Patriots: He’s back. Like seriously – that’s all you need to know right now.

New Orleans Saints: BYE WEEK

New York Giants: Eli had one of his best seasons ever under Ben McAdoo’s offense – which was a big reason why McAdoo got the HC job. Well even with the addition of Cruz and Shepard, Eli seems to be regressing. There’s no way that a QB with receiving talent like that should throw for fewer than 200 yards.

New York Jets: They can’t score. They can’t defend. We don’t even like the Jets and we are hoping that they make some changes to turn this team around. Maybe start Geno Smith. Just a thought.

Oakland Raiders: It wasn’t the sexiest win the Raiders have had all year, but they manage to find ways to win close games late. Some may call it luck, others may call it good coaching. Whatever you call it, it’s good enough for first place in the AFC West.

Philadelphia Eagles: Carson Wentz threw his first interception of the season, and to make it even worse, it was on the potential game-winning drive. Losing to the Lions is never a good sign; and it doesn’t help when you’re coming off a bye week. Philly has a little more work to do.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Seriously, where do the Steelers find these wide receivers? It seems like every week some relatively unknown player is catching a 70 yard bomb from Roethlisberger.

San Diego Chargers: It’s starting to get comical at this point – the Chargers just cannot seem to win a game that’s close in the fourth quarter. To make things even worse – the now 1-4 Chargers are the only team in the NFL to have not trailed at halftime in a game this year. Mike McCoy is officially on the hot seat.

San Francisco 49ers: We have seen Blaine Gabbert’s ceiling. We have also seen Colin Kaepernick’s ceiling. Kaep’s is higher. Start Kaep. Seriously.

Seattle Seahawks: BYE WEEK

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: MONDAY NIGHT GAME

Tennessee Titans: All year long, this has felt like a team that was on the brink of pulling out a big win. Not sure beating the Dolphins qualifies as “Big” but when you enter the game at 1-3, beggars can’t really be choosers.

Washington Redskins: From an 0-2 start to winners of three straight, we still haven’t figured out this Redskins team. We do know that unless Washington gets a running game going, Cousins is going to have an uphill battle all season – and he’s already not that good.